: : : : : This old house has a 10ft piece of 1 1/2" galvanized buried in the cieling and just short of tearing out the drywall is there anything I can try pouring down the drain to open it up.If not is it safe to run a cutting blade thru it and if so what size is best..thanks

: : : : If this is a drainage line, have it snaked with a power auger. Do NOT use chemicals like Drano. They do not work, they are dangerous to all living things and can cause damage to snaking equipment.: : : : Deb: : : : The Pipewench

: : : Thanks For the record this is the upstairs bath sink that had 2 sinks and one was taken out and a washer was installedI know its supposto be a 2 " line but not untill the job was all done.Now Im trying to avoid replacing the 1 1/2 " line.This old house also is wet venting..is that right?one vent for the whole house and it comes off the upstairs sink drainage out to the roof

: : If you are using this (undersized)line for a washer, you could have lint clogging the line. I have found galvanized really hard to snake. You might want to call someone who has done this a time or two.: : This is not the real definition of wet venting. It actually sounds as if you have alot of things not vented and/or vented incorrectly. You cannot really vent all fixtures from a continuous vent off a lav. What about the vents for the fixtures on the lower floor? Where is your kitchen sink vent? Vents have to be within certain distances from p-traps (and it's not that far).: : I won't give you any lectures, if you promise to plumb this washer in correctly with the correct size pipe. :-): : Deb: : The Pipewench

: I certainly appreciate information and take nothing as a lecture but as a lesson..the washer is a new addition so lint wont be the problem but years.It appears as if none of the other locations have venting.As I go to each drain down stairs the kitchen sink, toilet and sink drain directly to the main stack pipe.The only vent Ive found is off the line that leads over to the sink drain.Also in the line that goes from the sink to the stack the upstair tub and toilet tap into it without additional venting.This is why I called it wet venting.All the fixtures get their venting from this single source.So is my problem the 1 1/2 drain line or do I need additional venting or both..If I put mini vents under the down stairs sinks will this help the flow from the upstairs drain.Over the weekend I also discovered the tub drains very slow thanks jon

Actually things are "kinda vented" through the main stack. I think the problem is probably the 1-1/2" line and the fact that washers have alot more powerful pumps than they used to--the water ejects alot faster.Slow drains almost always mean clogged drainage line, not vent problems. The primary purpose of a vent is to equalize the pressure in the drainage system so that p-traps do not siphon dry. You need to use a large power auger to clean main lines. These can be dangerous. Do not use drain cleaners.DebThe Pipewench